As this CNN article explains, "For minorities, the wait for a bone marrow match can be long." While there are 7 million registered bone marrow donors on the Be The Match Registry, the percentage of minorities who have registered is very small. In fact, Hispanic donors account for only 9% of the millions registered.
While all transplant success rates increase when patients find donors with similar ethnic backgrounds, that component is even more vital to increase the success rate for bone marrow transplants.
For patients like Melissa Delgado, who is of Puerto Rican descent, the wait can be especially long. She has been trying unsuccessfully to find a bone marrow match for six years. It is crucial for minorities to join the bone marrow registry so more lives can be saved.
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